


A Pleasure to Burn

by Of_Princes_and_Savages



Series: A Series of Firsts... [4]
Category: Eragon (2006), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Anyelle, Durzelle - Freeform, F/M, Let's try to make that a thing, PWALP, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2016, That would be Porn With A Little Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-07 14:00:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8803609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Princes_and_Savages/pseuds/Of_Princes_and_Savages
Summary: Lady Isabella of Avonlea was brought to the court of the king as a political prisoner. She has no illusions of that. She finds a safe niche as a courtesan, especially safe considering her favorite gentleman is hardly a man at all...but a Shade.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ssirius_Blackk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ssirius_Blackk/gifts).



> And a very merry RSS/happy holiday to Ssirius-blackk, (I don't know if you have an AO3 name, why didn't I ask that?!) I give you Durzelle! Enjoy! I hope.
> 
> Prompt: "From ember to inferno."

It wasn't unusual in the least for courtesans to have favorite gentlemen. (Or ladies!) Most had a sort of patron they played escort and mistress to, and that was something like Belle's position. She had a member of King Galbatorix's court that paid frequent visits to her, she rather enjoyed his company.

Belle had decided on a bath tonight. A nice hot bath before her company arrived for the evening, with a bit of rose-scented oil to soften her skin. There were few luxuries Belle had found greater than that of a hot bath and a good book, although one had to be quite careful not to get so involved in the plot you stayed until the water ran cold, and try very hard to keep the pages of the book dry.

Though, for tonight, she would skip the book and just finish the bath quickly so she could be dressed and ready...well, as dressed as she could be in a nightgown.

Her hair didn't need washing, and drying it was tedious, so Belle had her auburn curls pinned atop her head. The actual washing of her body was done very quickly, leaving Belle in a copper tub of blissfully warm water and a languid, dreamy feeling urging her eyes shut.

As a Duke's daughter, Belle had a small armada of attendants at almost every moment of the day. Bossy nannies, opinionated governesses, nosy handmaidens. Her baths at home always had one lady's maid hovering in the room, though Belle was never sure why. She was washing! As long as she had a towel and a dressing gown, she was well-bodied and capable, and had no need for assistance in such matters.

Servants here at court had brought Belle the hot water and tub, checked she had everything she needed, and left. Belle was no one of significant importance, though above the servants, and she was happy for a bit of solitude. In all ways.

Belle poured a bit more oil into her palm and slowly rubbed up her arms, biting her lip when her hands slid over her small breasts. She'd given herself exploratory touches before she'd lost her virginity, usually guilty little adventures with her hands under the covers at night. She had a better grasp of the idea now, where to touch and what made her aroused. Something about hot baths appealed to her, she liked the weightlessness and the heat seeping into her bones. She'd learned her breasts were very sensitive, and took her time fondling them before stroking an slick finger over the taut pink tips.

A soft sigh escaped Belle and her eyes fluttered shut. She imagined for a moment that she was in the bath with her favorite gentleman,-though he was hardly a gentleman,-and it was his long, slender fingers plucking at her breasts. She'd be seated between his thighs, or perhaps directly on his lap, her back to his front, resting her head on his shoulder while he watched his hands play with her body.

He had a fascination for every part of Belle, though he never admitted as such. With her breasts, he liked to start slowly, almost as if he was warming her up. From an angle like she had in her mind's eye, once she was pleasantly adrift, he'd begin pinching at her nipples until she moaned and arched into his touch. One hand might drift up to her throat, then, or maybe southwards, under the water and down her flat stomach to the short-trimmed curls between her thighs.

Belle's own hand wandered there now, stroking her outer folds before brushing over her clit. She shivered, doing it again, and once more-

"I see you've started without me. How rude."

Belle smiled, withdrawing her hand and opening her eyes. He was early, or perhaps she'd lingered in the tub too long. Her door was quite firmly locked, but he had magic, and that was a marvelous way of getting around flimsy things like locked doors. Usually she could sense the shift in the air that came from his magic, but Belle had been... _distracted_.

And now Durza was standing there in her chambers, behind the screen she placed in front of the tub for modesty's sake.

Though the words _modesty_ , her chambers, and _Durza_ hardly belonged in the same sentence together.

"You're welcome to join me, if you'd like?" Belle offered cheekily, stretching her arms over her head to draw attention to her breasts. The Shade was truly impressive at hiding his thoughts behind a blank face, but she could see that fascination at play in how his gaze drifted down from her face for just a brief moment. He might not join her, but he didn't mind seeing her wet and naked on arrival.

Durza had shed his heavy mantle somewhere, which as far as Belle was concerned was a good thing. She might be alone in thinking the Shade's ominous red and black clothes were dashing, but that heavy cape he favored was a pain to remove. He stepped closer to the tub and beckoned her forwards. Obediently, Belle moved to the other end of the tub, kneeling on her knees, her arms folded on the rim of the tub as she smiled up at him. He'd remarked once that she was an odd girl for smiling so much, particularly at him.

And maybe Belle was a bit odd, but she hadn't really been afraid of the Shade.

The first time Belle had ever seen Durza the Shade had been in the throne room when she was brought before Galbatorix. He was lurking in the shadows, listening and watching, but not speaking. Belle's curiosity had always stood over her fears, so rather than weep and wail, she found herself fascinated by the silent Shade. Stories claimed he was tall and thin, with eyes like fire and the voice of a thousand souls, a cloak made of human hide fastened at his neck with a skull.

Reality was a bit less dramatic. Durza was only about five inches taller than herself, though his appearance was inhuman all the same. He was slender, with blood red hair brushed behind his shoulders, pallid skin traced with symmetrical scars, dark clothes in shades of black and red, and his eyes were a frosty shade of blue with black pupils. He wasn't so much frightening to Belle as he was striking, and his general demeanor was always quietly calculating, as if he was taking stock of everything he could use to his advantage later.

Belle knew he was not a kind man...she often wondered if he was a man at all. But the only advantage he took of her was her willingness to be bedded, especially when Galbatorix all but gave her to him, ostensibly to "break her in". It was meant to shock and frighten her people, the cruel fate of their beloved lady.

He wouldn't kiss her. That had been settled in their first encounter, after Galbatorix decided to show everyone a lesson and throw the poor little virgin girl to his vicious Shade for a fortnight. The only thing that had accomplished was a very interesting introduction to carnality that Belle had rather... _liked_ , once she got the hang of it. Durza had never been a gentle lover but Belle didn't quite care. They weren't lovers. They simply had...a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Belle smiled again as the Shade brought his hand to her face, brushing his warm fingers over the swell of her cheek. His long nails tickled. Oh, they could scratch and sting as well, but Belle found she enjoyed that. She briefly kissed Durza's fingers before shifting forwards to unfasten his belt and breeches.

He made no move to stop her, because he was no gentleman, he wouldn't treat her like a delicate flower or insist she be pleasured first. However it was hard to say which was more selfish: Durza for wanting her lips on his cock, or Belle for wanting to hear ever hard-earned sigh and groan she could draw from his lips.

Durza's cock was as pale as the rest of him, half erect at the moment. ( _How long had he watched her_?) He was comfortably average from the other few cocks Belle had seen, maybe a bit on the smaller end of average at that, but without that nest of hair at the base. And there were no scars on this part of him. Not that Belle had ever asked where his markings came from, but she suspected all men, including the dark and corrupt, weren't too fond of cutting at their bits.

It was an absurd enough thought to make Belle need to hide her smile by kissing the flushed tip of him, pumping his shaft with her hands. When she took him into her mouth at last, Belle heard a soft exhale too quiet to be a groan, but too loud to miss. He was always so quiet and controlled, it was a pleasure to hear him gasp and moan. Once he'd _almost_ cried out her name, she was certain, before rolling her underneath him and fucking her so hard it almost hurt. _Almost_.

She built up to a quick, steady rhythm that he seemed to like best, and one of his hands had tangled into her hair possessively, the other was clutching at her shoulder. It wasn't something Belle thought she'd enjoy, really, having a penis in her mouth, but the hard feel of him, the way his head dropped and his heavy-lidded eyes watched her work, was rather arousing.

She peered up at him when she rested her jaw a moment, lapping the salty, smoky fluid leaking from the tip of him. His gaze was hazy, his lips parted, and Belle found herself being pushed back to what she was doing before by that hand at the back of her head.

Shortly, Durza began rocking into her mouth, and Belle made appropriate adjustments so she didn't choke. He was not gentle...but gentleness was often his undoing. It took Belle almost three months to find a soft stroke and the whisper of his name made him come faster and harder than rough swearing and clawing, so Belle waited until she had most of him in her mouth before giving his heavy balls a tender squeeze-

" _Fuck_ ," he growled, nails biting into Belle's shoulders where both hands held on now. She brought her own hands up to his bucking hips, drinking down his release until it was over. She was not overly impressed by the taste, but the odd flavor was worth the breathlessness she had temporarily caused her Shade. _She_ had done that to _him_.

Durza stumbled back from the tub, his pale eyes glazed. He would never admit it, but he was always a little scrambled after an orgasm. He lay draped over her more often than not in the bed until he recovered his bearings, but as that was impractical at this time, he settled for tucking himself into his trousers again.

Belle had time to discreetly wipe her mouth with a washcloth before he regained his composure, moving around the screen so that she couldn't see him anymore.

This was yet another thing Belle noticed post-coitus, (not that they were post-coitus yet,) it wasn't unusual in her limited experience for men to walk out her rooms once they'd found their release, considering the matter finished. But more than half the time, Durza immediately had his clothes on and was retreating as soon as he was able. The other half of the time, or rather, more recently, he'd stay until he could shrug into his rumpled clothing by hand, and Belle was wrapped in her nightgown or robe, before retreating. He'd never spent the night, and Belle wasn't sure what to do if he did at this point...

"Would you care for a drink?" he said, snapping Belle back to reality. She was a courtesan, kept to entertain men of the court. He was a Shade that needed a fuck.

Although a drink did sound nice, she admitted, reaching for her towel.

* * *

Once in a blue moon, Durza felt an itch under his skin he couldn't quite explain, a desire for touch that went away as soon as he spilled his dead seed inside a whore. Lust perhaps. He had never felt compelled to rape, not when a worker of mankind's oldest profession was always eager for a handful of coins to cater to his rare needs.

Razing a city to the ground in a bloodbath of destruction and murder? Now that was far easier and something he indulged in more often, and with greater satisfaction. It had tangible results, something to show for his efforts. Sex was rather dull in comparison.

At least until Galbatorix decided to make an example out of some fool Duke's daughter, the tiny Lady Isabella of Avonlea, and told him she was all his for a fortnight.

Belle, (a far better name than such a grand title for the odd little thing,) could inspire love and lust in anyone, he was certain. She had the looks of a delicate porcelain doll, with creamy skin and lush pink lips, dark lashes and silky auburn curls.

He'd had every intention of leaving the girl to quiver and sob in her chambers when he brought her there. Despite Durza being his teacher in the darker arts of magic, Galbatorix had gleaned his true name and often used it to compel Durza in his service. (Not always though, his position as chief-terror and nightmarish associate suited him quite well.) But without any such compulsion, Durza was free to leave the girl to her weeping alone. Not that she'd been weeping at all, she'd stubbornly kept her head held high the entire time.

But those damned eyes were what captured his attention: So blue, so bright, so much like a clear, cloudless sky, that they should have been magic. Perhaps they were. For all her virginity and sheltered innocence, Belle had pressed into his arms when the door closed and hugged him like she was pleased to be ravished by a wicked Shade. She'd even tried to kiss him before he put a hand over her mouth.

It was important, for some reason, that Durza have her after that. He'd torn her golden gown to shreds, leaving her bare to him in stockings and slippers on the large bed. The pink of her pebbled nipples and parted mouth obscene, her clear eyes darkening with want. _She wanted him_. And he took full advantage, leaving his marks on her satin skin, making her scream, her little hands clawing at his back as he fucked her hard and fast.

It was greed that brought him back within forty-eight hours. The itch hadn't left, it still gnawed under his skin, filling him with the need to return to her bed. If Belle hadn't required rest and food and other concessions to her human fraility, Durza may have never let her leave her bed at all in that fortnight. The itch remained after their required time had ended, and while he could ignore it for weeks, have it dull to a minor annoyance, it _always_ brought him back to her.

He'd been away for three weeks, on multiple assignments, the king running him ragged until all tasks were complete. Durza appeared directly into Belle's chambers after dark, and was surprised to see her absent.

Only there she was, in the bath behind her dressing screen.

A wet, naked Belle languidly touching herself in the bath was quite a pleasing sight, and one with her rosy lips wrapped around his cock was even better. Durza was quite convinced that for all her beauty and charming demeanor, Belle was a cunning little beast. She'd found a niche in his life, and the court knew that the _Shade's whore_ was not to be trifled with lest they draw the ire of Durza himself. A fine example of a woman making the most of her situation. He'd taken an irrational fancy to her, in fucking her if nothing else, and Belle turned that around to give herself a bit of protection, no different than a number of politically savvy courtesans.

Though sometimes, Durza wondered if Belle weren't motivated by that same bizarre itch that ate at his skin. If, when she stroked his hair aside, when wound her arms around him, if she might welcome him into her bed because she was pleased by his company for a short time, rather than fear of rejecting his desire.

Belle put an end to that trivial thought by coming from behind her dressing screen, wearing a soft, simple white nightgown that fell off her sloping shoulders, her hair still pinned up. She had a lovely neck, all unblemished skin and a pale throat. He had left a ring of lovebites around that throat last time, a thin red scratch between her breasts where he'd sliced off her bodice. She'd been fond of that dress, but Durza thought she looked much tied to the bed with nothing but a sapphire choker.

Offering her another goblet, Durza found himself on the recieving end of yet another of Belle's smiles. She was always smiling, odd little thing she was. Always smiling at people. All people, even ones that surely repulsed her. Durza fancied when he saw her in public he could discern between a real smile and a false one, but that was hardly his business.

Belle licked the red wine from her lips, an unconsciously seductive gesture. Her innocence was long gone, but she was so at ease in her skin that even the most commonplace of gestures could be viewed... _provocatively_.

Another sip of wine and Belle set the goblet aside on a table, moving forward to unfasten his tunic. Durza let her do it, his skin buzzing when she began pressing little kisses against his bare, scarred chest. She smelled of roses, her skin pink and dewy from the bath. All the visual evidence suggested Belle was a fine, elegant lady, the sort poets venerated in their work, that storybook knights rescued from beasts and claimed as a bride.

The illusion was ruined the moment Belle bit the thin skin stretched over his collar bones, sucking and soothing with her tongue, leaving her own mark on him. Durza smiled, pressing his face against her soft curls.

Let some idiot try to take her as a bride from the clutches of a Shade. If he didn't eviscerate the fool, Belle would claw his eyes out.

* * *

Durza's hands came to stroke up and down her sides as Belle left a love bite on his collar. Once she was satisfied, she guided his shirt off and let it fall to the floor so she had unimpeded access to his torso.

There were scars on his front, the same symmetrical patterns that traced his face, arms, and back. His chest was smooth and firm, lean without gauntness. He had flat nipples the same pale, waxen color as the rest of his flesh, that hardened into tight buds under her tongue and made him hum when pinched or bitten.

Belle was unsurprised when he caught her face in his hands and pushed her away from his chest at that. Durza hated tenderness. Her willingness to try things had given her a bit of respect, but he didn't appreciate it when she took a slow, simmering approach to pleasing him. Or rather, _couldn't_ bear it, Belle suspected. It was an admission of weakness, no doubt, for him to give into such softness.

He didn't kiss her, of course, when he pushed her away, for all he stood staring at her for a moment, close enough to feel his hot breath puff against her skin. What he did do was wrap one hand around her throat and lean in very close, his lips alighting just past the corner of her mouth to drag over her cheek.

"What shall I do with you?" he whispered, one hand coming up to play with the laces of her gown. "You seem _quite_ eager for me. Or maybe you already found your pleasure in the bath, hmm? Were you so wanton you couldn't wait for my cock to fill your cunt, to fuck you until you screamed?"

Never had Belle heard such filthy words before he bedded her the first time. All the words he taught her were vulgar and rude...for polite company. But they were hardly polite company, were they? The idea brought to mind an overwhelmingly dull suitor Belle had been made to take tea with, with a chaperone, a footman, and her father all watching like she would do something improper like...like touch hands. If she'd dropped to her knees between his legs, the dowdy old chaperone would've have died on the spot from shock.

The image made Belle giggle, and Durza pulled away from here he'd been nipping at her neck. One brow was arched up, and Belle laughed again at his expression. Her Shade could be as easily offended as a mortal man if she began giggling in the bedroom.

"What, praytell, is so funny?" he asked, his thumb ghosting over her pulsepoint like a reminder that he could snap her neck. As if he'd kill her before he'd properly shagged her.

Belle arched her neck, pressing into his hand and closing her eyes at the mounting tension around her throat. She trusted him. In this way, Belle trusted him not to hurt her. At least not _unenjoyably_.

"I was just thinking how horrified everyone at home would be to see their lady please Durza the Shade," she purred, tingling all over when his grip tightened enough to make her just a bit hoarse. "To put my pure lips around your thick cock, until you spilled down my throat. I imagine the ladies would faint dead away."

Durza growled and the hand tightened around her neck flew to the front of her gown. Belle didn't have time to protest his seizing the front of her nightdress and ripping it open, the gossamer fabric tearing like wet paper in his grip.

It was on the tip of her tongue to protest because she _liked_ that gown, and while it was perfectly enjoyable to have her clothes ripped off, it was also humiliating to seek out a dressmaker to repair the damage or resupply her wardrobe.

But then, Durza was upon her, one hand clutching her bottom and the other tangled in her pinned curls, attacking her neck with sweetly-stinging bites. Belle moaned, her breasts flattening between them as she rubbed against him. He ground his growing hardness against her soft belly, and Belle whimpered in protest when he stopped.

He hoisted her up, and Belle locked her legs around his waist and her arms 'round his neck. She had been taken against a bookshelf in this position before, and enjoyed it to an almost embarrassing degree to be fucked in a library truth be told. A part of her hoped he'd take her against the wall this way, but instead she was dropped on the edge of the table, both goblets of wine and the bottle crashing to the floor.

Durza moved down her throat to her chest, nuzzling the flushed strip of skin between her breasts as he mumbled some magical word that melted the glass shards and wine stains into a silvery mist. Belle supposed most people thought of the true test of a magician's power lay in how powerful he was, but clearly there was a skill in ravaging a naked woman and still maintaining the coherency to vanish a mess.

Belle leaned back on her arms, thrusting her chest out which Durza took as an invitation to latch onto her nipple, massaging her neglected breast with the hand not splayed across her back. He used his teeth and tongue to turn Belle into a gasping, squirming mess, releasing with an obscene pop before moving to her other breast.

One of Belle's hands tried to delving between her dampened thighs, but he captured her hand quickly and pulled back to stare at her with those pale blue eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked with infuriating calmness. He would make her beg for it, but Belle refused to give in so quickly.

Even though he made it bloody hard when he tugged the ribbon from her hair and let her curls tumble down. Durza swept the locks back over her shoulders, brushing his hands purposefully over her taut nipples. Belle shivered at his touch, trying to wrap her legs around him to draw Durza near, but he stayed frustratingly out of reach.

Damn it!

"T-touch me..." she stuttered.

His blackened nails brushed down her side. "But I _am_ touching you..." and his crooked teeth showed in a lecherous grin. "Is that all you want, Belle?"

Oh, to hell with pride then: "Please, Durza, please," Belle whimpered, pulling on his shoulders. " _Please_ -

Durza shrugged her hands off and knelt down between her thighs and-

"Yes!" Belle howled when his tongue lashed over her sex. Her hands plunged into his hair, trying to keep his attention right there, fingers tangling in the long red strands while her hips shunted forwards. "Yes, there! Ther- _Fuck_!"

Whoever said ladies shouldn't swear clearly had never been pleasured to insanity before.

* * *

Durza knew a mouth on his cock felt pleasurable. He was aware that women enjoyed a similar practice, but had never given it much thought until Belle. She had an earthy, musky flavor to her arousal, delicate pink folds glistening with want. Experimentation proved that the center of her pleasure was that little nub at the top of her slit, but waiting until it was stiff and plump got the best reaction.

If she was clawing into his scalp and swearing like a sailor, that was a good sign it was time to draw that nub into his mouth and attack it with single-minded determination.

"Durza!" Belle cried out, quivering all over at once.

He had yet to hear a better sound than his own name ripped from her lips in the midst of an orgasm. Belle had fallen onto her back, unable to sit up, and she gasped aloud when he began again, moaning and bucking on the tabletop. The eloquent beauty was reduced to panted curses and yelps as he drove her back up the peak a second time, and his cock ached with the need to be inside of her, straining against his trousers.

Belle was still twitching from her second orgasm, her skin flushed and her breasts heaving. It was a lovely sight to be sure, such a beautiful creature spread out on the table like a feast for his senses. Durza kicked off his boots and took off his trousers in the time it took Belle to open her blue eyes. She bit her lip and managed to sit upright, weakly pulling him into her arms.

"The bed, please," Belle mumbled against his throat, lapping at his skin. "Please?"

Her and her fucking pleases. Something about that word spilling from Belle's mouth was more compelling than his true name. She wound around him like an ivy bound to a trellis, and Durza ignored his cock for the time it took to scoop Belle up, with her legs around his waist, and carry her to the bed. Her breasts pressed against his chest and her delicate nibbling of his neck and ear were most _distracting_. Durza dumped her on the bed as soon as they were close.

Belle gave a little squeal as she bounced on the mattress, grinning up at him as she squirmed around on the bed. Such an _odd_ girl.

She had made her way to sitting up against the headboard, her legs drawn up and splayed apart in a most inviting manner, displaying her short-cropped curls and her pink sex.

Durza had other plans, however, pouncing onto the bed and grabbing her ankles, pulling her to lay flat with a swift yank. Belle gave a yelp, though not frightened in the least, and oblidgingly rolled over at his prodding to sit up on her hands and knees. The cheeky little thing wiggled her bottom in the air, earning herself a nice smack.

_Slap!_

Belle whipped her head over her shoulder, biting that damned lip again and not the least bit offended by the red handprint on her ass. She reached between her legs, matter of fact, and wrapped her fingers around his cock. Durza hissed, shutting his eyes to prevent himself from disgracing himself before he was ever inside of her. Three weeks were three fucking weeks too many, he'd already come in her mouth half an hour ago and he was already desperate again.

The woman had some sort of enchantment placed on her, surely. Some sort of...some sort of sex-curse or something, fuck if he knew, there wasn't exactly enough blood in his brains to think anyway.

Fuck it.

"You would do wise not to tease me," he snarled, batting her hand away to line them up. "I'm not a patient man, _dearest_."

Belle rocked backwards, shuddering when the head of him brushed her damp folds. "Then we are well suited. Now fuck me, _darling_."

Where did she learn such language? A part of Durza approved of the dirty words from her fair mouth, spoken with that cultured, delicious accent. Another, rare part of him shivered at the pet name, even if it was spoken in sarcasm, and Durza smothered it as he entered her cunt in one smooth stroke.

The slick heat of her drowned out any foolish notions in blissful, primitive lust.

* * *

Because of her perceived position as Durza's property, (he did not own her, she chose her place, or rather, his place, in her bed,) Belle had only had to entertain a few other men. Perhaps three or four. Absolutely none of them were as satisfying as her Shade. Not that anyone would believe that.

Belle moaned softly as Durza thrust into her at last. His claws dug into her hips, her bottom tingling where she was struck, and his cock buried to the hilt, and it was everything she'd missed for three weeks. She wouldn't last long, her folds were still tender from his earlier ministrations, and the anticipation before that in the bath. He swept her hair off of her back, dragging his tongue along the perspiration beading her skin there.

Nothing in any book Belle had ever peeked in suggested sex was anything less than the magical end-all-be-all union between a man and a woman. All the books she had said it was tender and sweet. The truth appeared to be that it could be anything from tender to rough, because there was a certain, perverse pleasure in wearing Durza's marks around her throat, or under her gowns. And seeing scratches up and down his lean back was a source of pride for Belle, the same the Shade likely felt when he nuzzled a hickey on her throat.

He lay draped over her back, one hand supporting his weight so he didn't crush her, the other coming to rest against her belly. His sharp teeth nipped along the shell of her ear and Belle turned her head, pressing her lips to his cheek. At least that was the intention. Her lips brushed the corner of his mouth, very nearly on his thin lips.

For a moment, Belle wondered if it would be so bad to kiss. The other men had kissed her, enjoyed either soft pecks or foul plundering, jabbing their tongues into her mouth. She didn't doubt for a moment that Durza would be a ruthlessly efficient kisser, and she almost wished to test her theory...

But Durza pulled back, both hands returning to her hips to hold them steady as he pulled out. Belle rocked her hips backwards as he thrust forwards, and she hissed when his nails bit into her skin. Perhaps she'd never know gentler intimacies from her Shade, but what they had worked decidedly well.

Durza suddenly struck a spot just so and Belle groaned, her arms wobbling. Make that _exceedingly_ well.

Belle's world was rapidly narrowing down to nothing more than the burning in her core, hot gasps for air, the place where their bodies joined, and the blistering heat of Durza's pale skin.

He was always _so_ warm. Durza smelled like ash and fire and spice, it was no surprise really that he was so hot-natured. The heat of his skin seeped into Belle's very bones, in places she hadn't realized were frozen over until they had thawed. From ember to inferno, cool sparks to a bright flame-

There was a sharp pinch to her clit from Durza's nimble fingers and Belle's third climax struck her like lightning down her spine. She collapsed on her elbows, her head dropping down and whimpering as the previously pleasurable sensations between her leg became nearly painful. It was too much. It was all too much, and her nerves still buzzed when he drove in deeply and liquid heat filled her channel.

They both collapsed forward then, and Belle was too dazed to be affected by Durza's weight atop her, the sweat between their skins. The silky sheets under her cheek were deliciously cool, contrasting with the humid breath tickling her face.

Durza's head had fallen over her shoulder, his nose brushing hers. His closed eyelids flickered, his lips parted. Everything about him was lax, and Belle closed her eyes to savor the unusually peaceful moment. These times were rare, when everything went still and silent, just two bodies huddled together. She let herself lean closer, letting their noses touch...

Belle was never able to recall the instigator. On the one hand, she'd been thinking about his mouth for the better part of the evening. On the other, she didn't think she'd consciously kissed him. Someone had started the kiss at any rate.

A soft, sweet press of smooth lips.

Durza ended it, jerking back and pushing himself up. His pale eyes were wide, the rest of his face a mask, and Belle shivered as his cock slipped out of her. She rolled over onto her back, and hadn't thought much about placing a hand on his arm.

In hindsight, a lot could have gone wrong with that decision; Durza was known for stabbing and maiming random Urgals under his command for no other reason than their being unfortunate enough to be close to him when he was in a foul mood. He had taken his sword and chopped the head off of a nobleman Galbatorix suspected of spying for the Varden in full view of the court once. The hands that touched Belle were thoroughly stained in blood, she never forgot that. He'd never quite turned his anger and hate on her, but they had just crossed one of the firm lines in their relationship with a single kiss. He could have strangled her with his bare hands.

Instead, he remained frozen, kneeling on the bed.

The arm under Belle's hand was tense, the lean muscles bunching under the pale, scarred skin. He did not react when she let her hand drop down to take his hand, when she gently tugged him towards her at the headboard.

Durza did move, slowly, like a feral cat sizing up a human, then. Belle lay against the pillows, feeling her skin begin to chill. Having her Shade balance himself on his arms above her, not so much as a strip of skin touching then, his long red hair falling around them, was comforting in a way. His heat warmed her skin, his searching eyes brushed something deeper inside.

He bent down so very slowly, hovering over her cheek with just the tip of his nose touching her there. It was... _lovely_. Belle closed her eyes, gingerly bringing her hands up to stroke his back soothingly. He may have gasped. Or perhaps sighed.

He kissed her that time, pressing Belle back into the pillows. It wasn't gentle, but neither was it rough. It was the sort of kiss that brooked no argument, his lips coaxing at hers and his tongue slipping into her mouth. Not that Belle was feeling very argumentative, moaning when he flicked his tongue against a spot on her palate.

Durza pulled back with a definite gasp, one that made her pull him closer even though her eyes and limbs were growing heavy. He nuzzled against her jaw, murmuring some sleepy words that suddenly had the blankets snugly tucked over them. Belle tried to keep her eyes open, but she was too warm, too sleepy. She wound around her Shade, certain he would be gone before she woke, and deciding to enjoy the moment for as long as it would last...

**Author's Note:**

> (I may be writing their first time soon. Happy New Year.)


End file.
